ITINERARY
SPECIAL NEW YEAR’S TRIP
Please click here to view a breathtaking slideshow of our trip
DECEMBER 22nd, 2009 to JANUARY 2nd , 2010
Day 1: December 22nd Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Arrive in Ahmedabad and spend the night at Hotel Cama or similar hotel accommodations. Ahmedabad was founded in 1411 by Sultan Ahmed Shah, the ruler of Medieval Gujarat. It is famous for its historical monuments and its association with Mahatma Gandhi, the great freedom fighter and the Father of the contemporary Indian Nation. Ahmedabad is also known as “Manchester of India” because of its textiles mills. The city is famous throughout the world for its Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. Located in the State of Gujarat, this beautiful city is situated on the banks of River Sabarmati.
Overnight: Hotel Cama
Day 2: December 23rd Gandhi Ashram & Red Cross visit Morning sightseeing tour of Ahmedabad, followed by a talk given by Honorary Secretary Dr. Madhuben Naik and a tour of all the medical programs within The Gujarat Red Cross Complex. After our Red Cross tour we will head over to the Gandhi Ashram located in Sabarmati. This is the Ashram from which Gandhi started his Dandi March (Salt March) in 1930. The Ashram is a uniquely peaceful place set alongside the Sabarmati River. Our lunch will be held at the Gandhi Ashram. We will depart at approximately 5.00 pm via Air Conditioned Coach for the 3 hour ride to The Little Rann of The Kutch, a geographically unique landscape that was once an arm of the Arabian Sea. As geological forces separated the land from the sea, it became a vastly beautiful plain encrusted with salt. Our base of operations will be located on the edge of The Rann at the garden paradise of Rann Riders Resort in Dasada, Gujarat. With the exception of our stay in Ahmedabad, we plan to begin our daily programs with optional Yoga followed by a full schedule of programmed events consisting of our humanitarian and cultural programs.Overnight: Rann Riders Resort, Dasada .
Day 3: December 24th Visit to Ganthar NGO and Floating Desert Schools in the Rann.
Our morning will be spent receiving a talk and tour by the founding members of Ganthar. This NGO has created an educational system and standard for the semi nomadic children attending Floating Desert schools in the Rann. Ganthar’s standardized system allows the schools and their students the opportunity for recognition and integration within the government’s educational system. After lunch, we will drive through the Rann to visit with, distribute and treat children at Floating Desert schools. As always our visits on our trips are very moving especially when it comes to the children. These Floating deserts schools are inspiring as they accomplish so much with so little. Communities and schools communicate effectively over vast expanses using mirrors and sunlight. Overnight: Rann Riders Resort, Dasada.
Day 4: December 25th Tour of the salt pans in The Rann Our day will be spent traveling through the Rann. We will tour the salt pans and visit with salt pan workers. The salt pans are what drive the local rural economy. Sadly the working conditions for laborers in the salt pans are very poor and extremely hazardous to their health. Working in the salt pans exposes these workers to upper-respiratory ailments and acute skin conditions. RWI is currently in the research and planning phases of creating a program that would address the needs of these workers. After lunch we will head back into the Rann to treat and distribute educational materials to more floating desert schools. The evening will be spent at your leisure back at Rann Riders. Overnight: Rann Riders Resort, Dasada.
Day 5: December 26th RWI Free Eye Surgery Camp at Patdi Patdi eye surgery clinic screening day. Participants will support the surgery team with registration and screening to identify villagers eligible for our cataract surgery. In the past, on each of our trips our Give The Gift of Sight program has day treated 600-800 villagers, and offered eye surgeries to the 100 patients who qualified for full treatment. The cataract surgery involves the removal of the clouded lens from the eye and the implantation of an artificial intraocular lens (IOL). Please click here for more information on our Give the Gift of Sight Program. The evening will be spent at our leisure. Overnight: Rann Riders Resort, Dasada.
Day 6: December 27th Morning educational & Health program at school in Patdi and afternoon visit with patients post eye surgery at RWI eye camp. After breakfast we will visit schools in Patdi where we will distribute educational materials and treat school children. We will have lunch in Patdi, followed by a beautiful tour of the village and its monuments. A portion of the afternoon will be spent visiting with patients who are recovering from their eye surgeries. The evening will be spent with Dr. Arora in a guided interactive discussion on “The Impacts of Global Warming” Overnight: Rann Riders Resort, Dasada.
Day 7: December 28th Visit the Sun Temple at Modera and lunch with the historic silk weavers in Patan. We will depart from Rann Riders in the morning on a 70 km (1.5 hr drive) road trip to visit the 11th century Sun temple of Modera. This magical monument is easily one of the finest examples of devotional architecture in western India. Built by Bhima Deva of the Solanki Rajput dynasty, with the aid of donations from the people, the temple features carved torana arches mounted on kirti stambhas (pillars of victory) as the entrances, a large rectangular stepped with 108 smaller shrines, an exquisite 52 pillared portico, beautiful domed central portion and a sanctum sanatorium designed so that the sun light fell on the bejewelled statue of the God, specially at sunrise during the equinox. After visiting Modera we will drive to the historic city of Patan known for its Patola silk weavers. These weavers practice an intricate weaving technique called double ikkat which involves dyeing both the warp and weft threads according to the final design before setting them on the loom for weaving. The result is an extremely rich fabric. Only a few weavers in Okinawa, Bali and Patan use the double ikkat techniques making the Patola a rare collectible. We can spend the evening at our leisure.
Overnight: Rann Riders Resort, Dasada.
Day 8: December 29th Educational & Health program at school in Ambala. The morning will be spent with Dr. Arora and Alexander Souri in an interactive discussion debriefing our experiences from the RWI Free Eye Surgery camp in Patdi. After lunch we will visit the school in Ambala and distribute educational materials and de-worm children. We can spend the evening at our leisure. Overnight: Rann Riders Resort, Dasada.
Day 9: December 30th Educational programs at schools & Mini medical camp in Dasada.After breakfast we will drive into town to treat and distribute educational materials to the school children in Dasada. After our school program, we can visit several artisans that produce beautiful textiles and garments within walking distance from the school. Once we have lunched at Rann Riders we will head back to Dasada to set up the roadside mini-medical camp for the Mir community, a semi-nomadic tribe that lives on the edges of the Rann. We hope to treat 100 villagers within this community. Overnight: Rann Riders Resort, Dasada.
Day 10: December 31st Educational program at Schools in Fatehpur and New Year’s Eve Surprise event
The morning will be spent at our leisure enjoying Rann Riders Resort. After lunch we will head off to perform an educational program at the school in Fatehpur. Once we have performed our school program we will head off into the Rann and enjoy its magnificent sunset! The early evening will be spent anticipating the surprise events planned for New Year’ Eve. Overnight: Rann Riders Resort, Dasada.
Day 11: HAPPY NEW YEAR! Ghudkhar Wildlife Sanctuary tour & Volunteer Seminar We will take a morning sunrise tour of the Ghudkhar Wildlife Sanctuary where we will have the opportunity to see gazelles, wild asses and Siberian water fowl. The late afternoon will be spent with Dr. Arora in RWI’s Volunteer seminar program at Rann Riders. We will have a farewell dinner celebration for all of the good work we have done. Overnight: RWI Rann Riders Resort, Dasada.
Day 12: January 2nd 2010 Depart for Ahmedabad
After breakfast we will depart for our 2 hour drive to Ahmedabad for domestic and international departures. After breakfast we will depart for our 2 hour drive to Ahmedabad for domestic and international departures.
THIS ITINERARY IS FLEXIBLE GIVEN THE NATURE OF RWI’S WORK. CHANGES MAY OCCUR DUE TO WEATHER OR OTHER UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES.
TRIP COSTS
Duration of Trip: 12 days
Meeting Point: Ahmedabad, India
Direct International flights to Ahmedabad, India are available from the US and Europe on Jet Airways, Emirates and Air India.
Direct flights to Ahmedabad are available daily from Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur. Please call us for more information 413.329.5876
Price: $5950
